A Parade For An Organ Donor

One of the biggest fans of the New Year's Rose Parade, the late manager of the Walnut Creek office of the Department of Motor Vehicles, will be there in spirit and floragraph next month.

A portrait of Kimberley Rochelle Williams-Ibarra, who died of a blood clot in October 2010, will be featured with 71 other floragraphs of organ, eye and tissue donors on a Donate Life float in the Pasadena parade.

A floragraph is a portrait of a deceased donor created with floral materials.

The DMV and Donate Life California held a photo opportunity Tuesday at the DMV office on North Broadway to finish the floragraph with Williams-Ibarra's family.

"For me it's comforting," said Rae Williams of Hayward, Williams-Ibarra's mother. "We've come full circle. We used to call that her parade." Her daughter used to call her during the parade and insist that Williams turn on the television.

Her daughter was "very selfless, not just as a donator, but kind-hearted, intelligent, a good friend, a listener," said Williams. "What she tackled, she accomplished."

Williams-Ibarra was the woman of the year for the Northern Region of the DMV in 2009.

"We're celebrating the life of a hero and her contributions here at DMV," said Charlene Zettel, chief executive officer of Donate Life California, the nonprofit agency that administers the state-authorized organ and tissue registry.

As a manager, Williams-Ibarra promoted the partnership between the DMV and DLC.

DMV Director George Valverde called her "a conscientious and loving person."

Williams-Ibarra's gift enhanced up to 50 lives, according to a press release by the California Transplant Donor Network.

The 123rd Rose Parade begins at 8 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 2.